We’ll have some happy new options during daylight hours this fall as TV’s chat-show ranks expand.
A new host lineup on “The View” will include Meghan McCain, daughter of the former presidential candidate, when the gang reconvenes.
Whitney Houston will sit down with Oprah Winfrey for an interview considered a big “get” on the season premiere of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
And, best of all, Mehmet Oz will launch his eagerly awaited daytime show, “Dr. Oz,” the thinking person’s answer to Dr. Phil. (Stop smoking, eat well, exercise. He has ways of saying this without sounding trite or nagging.)
Things are hopping in daytime as the syndicated TV shows launch new seasons in the next couple of weeks.
Locally, “The View” returns at 10 a.m. Sept. 8 on KMGH-Channel 7
“Oprah Winfrey” returns at 4 p.m. Sept. 14 on KCNC-Channel 4
“Dr. Oz” joins the fray at 3 p.m. Sept. 14 on KMGH-Channel 7
While Oprah remains the top talker, she’s slipped in recent years, and there are high expectations for her protege Dr. Oz. While “The View” has done well in the numbers, particularly during last year’s election cycle, stations pay dearly to carry those shows.
The girls just want to have fun, the promotional spots claim, but the ratings battles are fierce.
Many stations around the country have given up on syndicated hours in favor of producing their own.
Locally, KDVR-Channel 31 is among those taking the opposite route, launching its own programming.
Broadcasters nationally suggest this may be the perfect time for stations to put forward their own shows as a way to stand out in the crowded media landscape.
Homegrown shows — such as Channel 31’s “Everyday with Libby and Natalie” and Channel 2’s “News on the Deuce” — are less expensive than syndicated properties, make use of staff already in the building and give the stations a distinct local presence.
The idea is to be in control of his own destiny and not dependent on outside producers, KDVR-KWGN general manager Dennis Leonard has said. It’s not about ratings, this philosophy holds, it’s about economics.
“Everyday,” which launched in June, goes up against “Oprah” at 4 p.m. So far, the chat-feature show designed as a local version of “The View,” isn’t making headway in the numbers (it barely registers; the old “Access Hollywood” did better.) But it costs a fraction of what “Oprah” does.
Stations pay anywhere from $20,000 a month to $80,000 a week for syndicated shows, depending on the ratings (“The Doctors” at the low end, “Oprah” at the highest). Some managers believe that, for much less than that, they can put their own shows on the air, hang on to staff and gain a higher local profile.
The trend, in much of the media, is “hyper-local.”
KUSA’s Mark Cornetta notes, “in today’s environment, you really have to scrutinize the type of programming you’re purchasing, so that that the advertising can support the license fee. “Local programming is clearly an avenue that many local broadcasters have chosen to go down. You control it, you’re not beholden to a syndicator, it gives you a chance to produce local content and monetize that content for years to come.”
Channel 7 got out of syndication (“Oprah” in her golden years) in favor of local programming. Now, it’s getting back into the game with “Dr. Oz.”
While “Dr. Oz,” replacing “Jeopardy” on Channel 7, is expected to be the most popular syndicated show in years, many aging daytime shows are steadily declining in the ratings.
We’ll see who’s having fun between now and the November sweeps.
Father-son news.
KMGH- Channel 7 weather guy Mike Nelson finds himself competing against his son, Anders, who does weather on KGWN-TV in Cheyenne. At least in northern Colorado, and on Sunday nights, they’re head-to-head. The senior Nelson says his son debuted this summer, “30 years to the day that I had my first show on WKOW-TV in Madison, Wis.
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com
